Traits (Appearance): Voluminous dark brown hair that falls barely past her shoulder reveals a strong and defined facial structure. Alice is a bit over 6 foot tall towering over most middle aged women as herself. She has a slim but toned build aiding her in the many unplanned adventures she finds herself taking part in.
Reason for coming on the plane: Alice and her sister Olivia had been exploring North America for a couple of months, while they were in Florida they had found a cheap plane ticket to Rio and decided South America would be their next stop.
Brief History (Criminal record, past): Alice first enlisted in the British army when she was only 18 years old, her overbearing mother had pushed her to join ever since she turned 16. Generations of men before her had been in the army including her father who had been killed in action during the Iraq war in Afghanistan. She is the first woman in her family to enlist in the army making her mother extremely proud. She has trained for three years and on her 24th birthday she decided to take a break in order to explore the world around her and find herself along the way.
Anything else: She was born in 1991.
DAY ONE
Numb. All I could feel was numb. It was as if my memory had slipped away into the abyss. Where am I…? I thought as I slowly opened my eyes, darkness, the heavy darkness wrapped around me like a blanket on a cold winter night. My senses came back to me one by one, I felt a soft material beneath me lifting me up from the earth, sand, I recognized immediately. This led me to conclude that I was on a beach, but why was it so dark? I reached about 3 inches above me and my hands were met with a cold hard surface, sliding my hands down I realized that I was trapped under a dome like piece of material. I pushed to the left as hard as possible and the object had lifted off of me. Light had invaded my eyes and with the light came my memories.
Olivia and I had taken a plane from Miami Florida to Rio that morning. The flight had been quite peaceful at first, my sister’s head was resting on my shoulder as she slept, and the people around me were quietly conversing with one another. Everything seemed alright until the plane started to shake ever so slightly, this happened on and off for a couple of minutes and I had not thought anything of it, maybe we were just passing a storm. The shaking had started to get worse, everyone was panicking, Olivia had woke up screaming and she squeezed my hand. I had shut my eyes and the plane began to drop. The world went black.
Hunger had struck me like a sword. I needed to find food, I needed to find shelter, and I needed to find Olivia. I stood up and peered around, taking in reality. There was debris everywhere, a few people stood around, some were crying for their loved ones and some were just flat out unconscious. Heaps of bags and suitcases were scattered all around me, I got up to look for my bulky purple suitcase but it was nowhere in sight. I sigh in frustration but then I see something out of the corner of my eye, Olivia’s bag! It was barely visible, protruding underneath a pile of rubble. I go over and quickly snatch it, opening it up I see that there is enough food and water in it to last the night, "Thank God" I mutter under my breath. My next step is finding shelter, I shudder as I peer over to the forest I was about to immerse myself in, who knows what sort of creatures were lurking in there late at night, I guess I was going to have to find out.
DAY TWO
I awoke in a puddle of mud; apparently I had been so exhausted that I conveniently passed out right in the middle of this godforsaken jungle. I remember sprinting through the thick brush racing against time, the sun was about to set and I was not about to try and find a shelter in pitch black darkness. I look down to find Olivia’s bag fully submerged in the mud pit, “Bloody hell, you have got to be joking.” I looked around for a clearing and instead found a small cave about five hundred feet away, “That will do” I said to myself as I made my way into the cave. It was surprisingly well lit, so I set the bag down and cleared off as much mud as I could. I then unzipped it to find that everything was untouched and dry. I sighed in relief; Olivia had bought a waterproof bag. I took out the plastic bag of animal crackers and ate all twenty of them in like ten seconds or something, I was crazy hungry, drank a whole bottle of water as well. The small amount of food would keep me energized for about an hour or so, I then headed out of the cave not really sure where I was to go next. And then, just as everything was going brilliantly, I fell and face planted over a loose tree branch. I lay there for about ten seconds, wallowing in my misery. It seemed as if nothing could go worse, but of course it did. As I slowly lifted my head and open my eyes I notice something sitting in front of me, my vision was a bit blurry so I couldn't quite make it out. The figure started to hiss at me and then my vision adjusted and I there I was, literally face to face with a Raccoon.
DAY THREE
Fuck. One simple word that could sum up this entire situation. I’m lying on the ground covered in mud and for all I know this stupid thing could be rabid, this stupid little Raccoon could potentially kill me. I stare at it and it stares right back, in fact it hasn't moved a single muscle since I began staring at it. I slowly begin to get up, eyeing it as I do so, and sit in a crossed legged position. No movement. I begin to snap right in front of its face. No movement. “Clear off you prat! Have you lost your mind?” I shout in frustration, but nothing, nothing in the whole world would make this thing move, it was like it had been paralyzed or something, come to think of it, it had a peculiar look to it, almost like a look of fear. I then notice something sticking out from the back of it, so, naturally, I get up to see what it is and my heart drops to my stomach. The Raccoon is dead and fresh blood was trickling down from the arrow that it had been shot with. I notice a large black shadow slowly beginning to engulf my entire body and an ominous feeling begins to form in the pit of my stomach. I hesitate for a moment and look up, and there, before my eyes, is a very tall man holding a giant spear.
“Jarraitu!” The man screams in his native language and two men emerge from the bushes, both of them running towards me. I scream and turn away from the men, attempting to make an escape but failing as I was hit in the back of the head with a cold, hard object, everything after that was darkness.
DAY FOUR
As I begin to regain consciousness I feel something weighing down on my shoulders with an extreme amount of force, I couldn't move and I couldn't see. I was completely defenseless and I was running out of air, something was covering my mouth, suffocating me. I felt the life slowly drain out of me as each minute passed and just as I was about to let go I feel a sudden release, all the weight diminished at once. I gently open my eyes, everything is blurry but I can make out someone kneeling in front of me. I hear a muffled voice but I can barely decipher the words. My senses slowly come back and I only make out the last sentence. “Go downhill and you will find most of the other survivors and plenty of food." Just as I was about to reply the figure vanished and I was left alone to fend for myself.
DAY FIVE
I lay against a tree as the warm sunlight penetrates my skin, seeping into every pore and giving me life. It has been two days since I was attacked by the two natives and somehow I managed to find enough food and water to keep me alive. The only thing is I have not slept at all in those two days, the natives must have broken some of my ribs because the pain is so excruciating that it is impossible for me to even sit down.
I've spent the past hour thinking about the man who saved me. He had only said one thing to me but that one thing was enough to change my mind. I thought I could make it on my own, find Olivia on my own, and get off this island on my own. I was mistaken, each day I'm here I grow weaker, I overestimated my abilities because they are clearly no match for this place. Danger is lurking behind every corner and it's simply impossible for anyone to survive here alone, the only way I'll make it out of here, the only way I'll know if Olivia is still alive is to join the survivors. I shakily get up and start making my way downhill, every step I take feels like my last, the pain has gotten so bad that I don't even know if I will be able to make the journey.
After hours of walking the sandy shore appears before my eyes and a flutter of hope dances in my mind. This is it, this is how I'm going to get out of here, this is how we are all going to get out of here. I make it to the sand dragging myself along and just ahead of me the survivors come into view and I swear I can see Olivia. With a jolt of excitement I begin to run. Relief floods my body and just as I was about to make it to them a sharp pain strikes my chest and I fall to the ground and feel my mind begin to fade out.
DAY SIX
I could feel my heart beating very slowly as I opened my eyes and turn my head to the left to see a strange man sitting by my side. My hearing was a bit off so all I could hear were muffled cries and by the tone of the man’s voice I assumed they were cries for help. I slowly turn my head to the right and see five natives concealing themselves among the bushes. I gently rest my head back into the position that it was in, praying that the natives had not noticed that I was alive. I hear a loud thud come from my left side and I squeeze my eyes shut, I could hear the stranger and a native struggling right beside me. A couple of seconds later I hear a few gunshots and the intensity of the struggle began to grow. I wanted to help the man for it was five men against one and he would die without any help, but it was no use, I was weaker than ever and I would surely die the second I let the natives know that I was still alive. I lifted my head and open my eyes slightly, but this time the stranger I had seen before was nowhere in sight, instead another man lay in front of me on his back. It took a couple of seconds for me to realize that this man was no stranger at all, he was the man who saved me in the forest! I lifted my head even further and noticed the last native was standing right over top of him with his sword drawn, ready to kill him. I needed to act fast so, using all of the strength that was left in me, I propped myself up with my elbow and grabbed the pistol that was a couple of inches beside me. The native had not noticed me because he was too focused on the man below him, so I quickly pulled the gun up and aimed it at the native’s chest and in the second that it took for me to pull the trigger, he was dead. The man turned his head towards me, "Uhmm.. Thanks.." he said, groaning between each word. I let the gun fall from my hands and struggle to hold myself up. "I'm Wrennyn.." the man says as he slowly rises to his knees. "Alice White.." I halfheartedly respond. "... I guess we're equal now... I saved you... You returned the favor.." he says, slowly getting up and walking over to me. He bent down beside me. "Can you stand, Alice?" I look up at him and shake my head. He gives me a half smile, shaking his head. “Figures..” He gets up, straightens himself out and then bends down again to pick me up, lifting me up into his arms.
So we both began our journey back to camp. Wrennyn had been injured during his fight with the natives so every couple minutes or so he would set me down, apologizing as he did so, so he could catch his breath. "So... from the accent... I'm guessing you are from the United Kingdom...” He said, stopping to breathe between each word. "I'm from Bristol... In England." I responded, looking up and smiling at him. "I visited London once... selling soap to people... I loved the rain." He said. I laughed and wrapped my arms around his neck tighter as he stumbled up a sandy hill. I looked up and noticed that we were really close to the camp, focusing in I saw a tall, muscular man with binoculars standing off to the side. "Hounsome!! Over here, mate!" Wrennyn shouted at the man in the distance. He took a few steps forward and then collapsed, I fell out of his arms onto the sand and winced in pain. A couple of people I didn't recognize came over to me and helped me up and then proceeded to lead me into a small makeshift hut. I collapsed and all of the pain from before had seemed to go away all at once and as if nothing had ever happened, I fell into a deep peaceful sleep.
DAY SEVEN
I awoke with a dark cloud looming over my thoughts. All of the things that tainted my subconscious were starting to come up and take over my attention. Where was Olivia? Why had we not been rescued yet? Will we ever be rescued? The devil in my mind told me that Olivia was dead and that we would never make it off of this island alive. There was no hope. It seemed as if these endless negative thoughts that kept replaying in my brain would never go away but something interrupted them. Someone nudged my shoulder and my eyes flickered open. Wrennyn. I slowly got up and stretched.
"Oh.. Hey. What's up?" I said giving him a half smile and pretending that nothing was wrong. "Not much... Wanted to see how you were." He said sitting down on the bed beside me. "Feeling a bit better now?" He continued. "Yeah... Glad to see you're moving about." I replied with a smile I couldn't help but feel happy whenever I saw him, he had sort of radiance. He was a light in my expanding darkness. Silence crept around the room and just as I was about to say something he cut in. .. "Well... Uhhh I am glad you're doing good... I'll... See you around?" . "I sure hope so." I replied, feeling my cheeks burn red. "Alrighty, Miss White... I will see you... around." and with that he was gone.
Later that day I found myself sitting by the fire, a multitude of people surrounded me but I felt alone. I pulled my legs into my chest and looked off into the distance. The darkness captured me but my light was nowhere to be found.
DAY EIGHT (DEAD)
I opened my eyes to the trance of morning, glittering beads of light illuminated my body as if some kind of spotlight were shining on me. I was laying in an open field and looking up I see Powder soft clouds dispersed across the entire sky. Am I...Dreaming? I thought, it was as if I had woken up on the island for the first time all over again, except this time there was no sand, no forest, and no people. I slowly sit up, turn my head and peer over my shoulder. I stare in confusion as an enormous oak tree comes into view about five meters away from where I sit. I look closer and see a shadowy figure sitting against the tree, holding what appears to be a book. I should have been scared, I should have been in panic but there was something different about this place. A soft aura filled the air, permeating my emotions, leading me to feel nothing but pure peace. I smiled as the soft breeze gently ruffled my hair. I calmly stood up and began to make my way over to the big oak, walking as if each step was being controlled by some outer force. I finally reach the tree and sure enough there is a little girl sitting down and reading a book. After a second or two she closes the book and looks up at me, she was as soft as the breeze and her smile captivated me as she stared deeply into my eyes. Finally, from what seemed like minutes she speaks. "Welcome to Heaven." Her voice was like silky smooth butter being poured onto bread. I stood there and stared at her, mouth wide open, awestruck.
DAY NINE (DEAD)
My mind was going a million miles a minute, Heaven? That can't be true...that would mean I'm...dead? I thought. The last thing I remember is looking for Olivia, I had heard her name...that's right she was calling me, she was alive, or at least I thought she was. I stopped for a moment and then my eyes were forced shut and my mind took me on an adventure. It was like a psychedelic trip, there were so many colors, so many figures, but then the abstract images faded and I saw myself. I was back in the forest pacing around, moving fast until in a fit of exhaustion until I was on my hands on knees, breathing in great huffing breaths. And that was when I heard the voice, Olivia's voice. Stay away the voice whispered in the wind. I shouted something but I couldn't hear what it was because the voice kept repeating Stay away. Stay away. I saw myself begin to run, chasing the voice. Little did I know, I was moving toward the sheer edge of a cliff and the voice repeated one last time. Stay away...the edge. I didn't have time to react and I fell to my death, I saw my mangled body lay on the ground, embraced by the wilderness that surrounded me and for a split second I swore I saw a ghostly figure kneeling down beside my dead body. The image faded away to blackness.
DAY TEN (DEAD)
I opened my eyes to find that I was no longer standing up. I was no longer in the sun swept plains. I was sitting in a boat and the little girl was sitting in front of me her back turned away as she paddled the nameless sea. Mountains crowded the blue sky and an explosion of color surrounded me. To my left were beautiful rolling hills and to my right were distant river valleys. This place was like no other, pure and untouched by man. The beauty overwhelmed my mind but I turned my attention to the little girl. Who is she? Where is she taking me? Perhaps to Olivia. I thought. I took a deep breath and then asked her where we were going. She turned around and smiled, "You will see." she said and then turned back around to face the unknown lands ahead.
DAY ELEVEN (DEAD)
The mountains shimmered like a mirage in the distance and I realized that we weren't very far from land by now. My mind was beginning to wander, It ran aimlessly through cloudy memories from my childhood. My father, a man with brown hair and dark eyes just like myself cared about me more than anyone. He worked long hours and would come home at the same time every night exhausted, but instead of going to sleep he would come into my room just before I was about to fall asleep and tell me a story. He never read from a book but instead fabricated miraculous stories straight from his mind, on some nights he would tell me fairy tales and on other nights it would be real stories, about his childhood and his mother, whom I had never met, for she died before I was born. Sometimes he would spend hours talking and despite my exhaustion I would fight to stay awake and listen, it was almost like I knew that my time with him would be cut short. He died when I was only 12 years old.
DAY TWELVE (DEAD)
I woke up on a sandy shore and for a second I thought I was back on the island and that I had just been dreaming this whole time, but I soon realized that that was impossible. I was surrounded by an ocean of yellow sand, no forest or anything in sight, just sand. I slowly got to my feet and took in my surroundings, the little girl from the day before was long gone by now, it was just me and the endless sand. I wanted to cry, heaven was supposed to be joyful place full of love and life, where family could gather together and spend the rest of eternity with no fears or worries or anything of the sort. Heaven was in fact a place of loneliness, a place of the unknown.
DAY THIRTEEN (DEAD)
In a way it was like I was back on the island, alone and having to fend for myself, and the same feeling of hopelessness spread through the air like a virus. I was walking up the sand dunes when something caught my eye. There was a small building in the distance and looking closer I noticed it was a house. I began to run, thinking that if I waited too long it would fade away somehow, just like the river and the oak tree, both seemed to disappear without explanation. I ran like I was being chased by a murderer, ignoring the pain that formed in my side, Something told me that I needed to get to this house. I stopped in my tracks and fell to my knees gripping my side and breathing in short rapid breaths, I slumped to the ground and sobbed. The house that stood before me was not just any ordinary house, it was the house located in Bristol, on Willow road, my house.
DAY FOURTEEN (DEAD)
I buried my head into my hands, wishing I was somewhere else, anywhere but here, maybe a peaceful garden or a buzzing coffee shop, I'd give anything not to be faced with my past. I slowly lifted my head away from my hands, eyes still squeezed shut and took a deep breath. I opened my eyes and gasped, my wish had come true. The smell of fresh cut grass filled the air and a kaleidoscopic array of colors surrounded me. I was in a giant greenhouse full of freshly grown flowers, the light from the morning shone in from the glass and scattered throughout the room, two blue jays perched on the branch of a small tree and sung back and forth. I was so awestruck that I almost didn't notice the bench in the middle of the room and the girl that sat in it.
DAY FIFTEEN (DEAD)
The girl who looked about my age sat in the silver bench reading a book, not noticing my presence. She had tight golden curls that were tied back into a bow and a blue suede dress that came to her knees. I couldn't tell what she was reading but It must have been good because her eyes were glued to the page, even as I got up and walked towards her. I cautiously made my way over to the bench that was placed perpendicular to hers and quietly sat down. I tapped my fingers on the metal and just as I did so the girl jumped and looked over at me in utter surprise. "Oh my goodness I'm so sorry I didn't notice you there!" she squeaked. "I'm Madeline Rose, I see you have found my secret garden" she said, chuckling. I looked from the book to her face and smiled " I don't really know how I got here actually, It was sort of like magic, what's with that?" I asked. "Oh! You must be new, heaven is not exactly like the place they talk about on earth, not at all. In fact we aren't really in the true heaven, it's more like what they call purgatory on earth. Our lives on earth were so short, too short, we haven't had enough time to learn what we were meant to so that's why were here in...erm...half heaven I guess."
DAY SIXTEEN (DEAD)
I sighed in relief. "That's good news, I mean I thought I was going mad, I thought for sure that I would be alone here forever or something." I said looking down at my muddy boots. Madeline giggled. "Oh no, not at all there's a lot of people here just like us, although most of them are off learning and exploring, That's what's so great about half heaven, you can think of anywhere you want to be and...voila! You're there!" I looked up at her, eyes wide. "Well that explains a lot...quite a lot, and I could be anywhere at all? Is that so?" I asked. "Why yes!" Madeline beamed. "Anywhere from a quite isolated garden to...say college...or New York...or even your own house! If that is where you need to go to learn." She said enthusiastically. "My own house..." I said quietly, that's why my house appeared earlier! There's something there that I could learn from...but what? "I'm sorry I've got to go, bye Madeline thank you for your help" I said as I closed my eyes and wished to be home.
DAY SEVENTEEN (DEAD)
And just like that I was back at my front porch standing in front of that familiar red door. I stepped forward and the door opened by itself like magic, I walked in and looked behind the door but no one was there. Nostalgia filled the air as I looked around my living room, there was that coral pink chair my mother used to lounge in and drink her tea, and the shelves that were full of old family photos. I picked one up and smiled, It was a picture of my mother, Olivia, and I sitting in front of the fire place on Christmas morning, my father had taken the picture without us knowing. I set the picture down and walked deeper into the house and as I passed the stairs I felt a light breeze. I stopped and hesitantly approached the staircase and followed the breeze. As I came into the upstairs hallway I noticed a light coming from my sisters room and her door was wide open. I slowly walked towards her room making as little noise as possible, I stood outside the doorway and froze, there sitting on her bed was Olivia.
DAY EIGHTEEN (DEAD)
She sat in silence looking down at a photograph of a girl, a tear fell from her cheek and onto the paper. Looking closer I realized that the picture was of me, our mother took it right before I left for training. I broke the silence. "Olivia?" I said as I quietly walked into the room. She looked up in an instant and gasped. "Alice!" She bolted from the bed and jumped into my arms. "Alice I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry." She cried. "Sorry? For what?" I asked, confused. She let go and moved back, looking into my eyes. "For...not being able to save you, I saw you run for that cliff , I tried to warn you...but" She looked away with a guilty expression. I laughed. "No! There's nothing you could have done, I was never going to make it off that island alive, there was no hope...for anyone really....besides we're together at last! You have no idea how long I have waited for this moment!" She turned towards me and I wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Where were you all that time anyways?" I asked. She looked at me and laughed. "Well, I went off to find shelter and on my little journey I was bit by a monkey, I didn't think much of it...but nearly an hour later the pain was so excruciating so I went for a little walk, mind you it was pitch black by the time this happened and apparently I was right beside a river and...well you can pretty much guess from there."
DAY NINETEEN (DEAD)
"Death by monkey." I laughed "What a story." She sighed and looked away. "What's the matter?" I asked. "Father...I haven't seen him at all you know." She said, looking at the ground. "Olivia it's okay! Were in half heaven." I exclaimed "Half heaven? What do you mean?" She asked. "I'm surprised no one has told you, this isn't true heaven...it's like purgatory, we're here because we haven't learned enough on earth because we're so young and all." She gasped. "That makes so much sense! Every time I fall asleep I wake up in a new place, it's the weirdest thing, but it makes sense, in order to learn you must experience as much as you can in as many places you can." She said. "Exactly!" I shouted. "It works even if you close your eyes as well, if you just wish to be somewhere, you'll be there, it's crazy!" I explained. "Well we've obviously got to try this out now, where should we go?"
DAY TWENTY (DEAD)
We spent the rest of our days in purgatory embarked on an everlasting journey to find ourselves. In the blink of an eye we would be sailing the deep sea, writing novels at Harvard, walking the busy streets of New York City, and even meditating with monks. It was all one big self-exploration journey, but one event in particular stood out among-st them all. I woke up one morning in my old bedroom with Olivia right beside me, which was no surprise; we stuck together like glue, never leaving each other’s side. The idea appeared to hit us both at the same time and in a matter of seconds we were gone. Gliding over the foggy skies we were back in the place of our demise. The one event that we never truly understood, the plane crash, was the last thing we needed. The entire event was bizarre in itself, a plane crashes on an island with over thirty people and not one person comes to look for us? This couldn’t have just been a coincidence, we are in the twenty first century, a lost plane in this day and age is nearly impossible. Our ghostly bodies drifted above the trees as we searched the land below us, like two birds.
DECEASED - KILLED IN DAY SIX WRAP-UP
Full Name: Alice White
From (Hometown): Bristol, England
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: Spanish
Traits (Appearance): Voluminous dark brown hair that falls barely past her shoulder reveals a strong and defined facial structure. Alice is a bit over 6 foot tall towering over most middle aged women as herself. She has a slim but toned build aiding her in the many unplanned adventures she finds herself taking part in.
Reason for coming on the plane: Alice and her sister Olivia had been exploring North America for a couple of months, while they were in Florida they had found a cheap plane ticket to Rio and decided South America would be their next stop.
Brief History (Criminal record, past): Alice first enlisted in the British army when she was only 18 years old, her overbearing mother had pushed her to join ever since she turned 16. Generations of men before her had been in the army including her father who had been killed in action during the Iraq war in Afghanistan. She is the first woman in her family to enlist in the army making her mother extremely proud. She has trained for three years and on her 24th birthday she decided to take a break in order to explore the world around her and find herself along the way.
Anything else: She was born in 1991.
DAY ONE
Numb. All I could feel was numb. It was as if my memory had slipped away into the abyss. Where am I…? I thought as I slowly opened my eyes, darkness, the heavy darkness wrapped around me like a blanket on a cold winter night. My senses came back to me one by one, I felt a soft material beneath me lifting me up from the earth, sand, I recognized immediately. This led me to conclude that I was on a beach, but why was it so dark? I reached about 3 inches above me and my hands were met with a cold hard surface, sliding my hands down I realized that I was trapped under a dome like piece of material. I pushed to the left as hard as possible and the object had lifted off of me. Light had invaded my eyes and with the light came my memories.Olivia and I had taken a plane from Miami Florida to Rio that morning. The flight had been quite peaceful at first, my sister’s head was resting on my shoulder as she slept, and the people around me were quietly conversing with one another. Everything seemed alright until the plane started to shake ever so slightly, this happened on and off for a couple of minutes and I had not thought anything of it, maybe we were just passing a storm. The shaking had started to get worse, everyone was panicking, Olivia had woke up screaming and she squeezed my hand. I had shut my eyes and the plane began to drop. The world went black.
Hunger had struck me like a sword. I needed to find food, I needed to find shelter, and I needed to find Olivia. I stood up and peered around, taking in reality. There was debris everywhere, a few people stood around, some were crying for their loved ones and some were just flat out unconscious. Heaps of bags and suitcases were scattered all around me, I got up to look for my bulky purple suitcase but it was nowhere in sight. I sigh in frustration but then I see something out of the corner of my eye, Olivia’s bag! It was barely visible, protruding underneath a pile of rubble. I go over and quickly snatch it, opening it up I see that there is enough food and water in it to last the night, "Thank God" I mutter under my breath. My next step is finding shelter, I shudder as I peer over to the forest I was about to immerse myself in, who knows what sort of creatures were lurking in there late at night, I guess I was going to have to find out.
DAY TWO
I awoke in a puddle of mud; apparently I had been so exhausted that I conveniently passed out right in the middle of this godforsaken jungle. I remember sprinting through the thick brush racing against time, the sun was about to set and I was not about to try and find a shelter in pitch black darkness. I look down to find Olivia’s bag fully submerged in the mud pit, “Bloody hell, you have got to be joking.” I looked around for a clearing and instead found a small cave about five hundred feet away, “That will do” I said to myself as I made my way into the cave. It was surprisingly well lit, so I set the bag down and cleared off as much mud as I could. I then unzipped it to find that everything was untouched and dry. I sighed in relief; Olivia had bought a waterproof bag. I took out the plastic bag of animal crackers and ate all twenty of them in like ten seconds or something, I was crazy hungry, drank a whole bottle of water as well. The small amount of food would keep me energized for about an hour or so, I then headed out of the cave not really sure where I was to go next. And then, just as everything was going brilliantly, I fell and face planted over a loose tree branch. I lay there for about ten seconds, wallowing in my misery. It seemed as if nothing could go worse, but of course it did. As I slowly lifted my head and open my eyes I notice something sitting in front of me, my vision was a bit blurry so I couldn't quite make it out. The figure started to hiss at me and then my vision adjusted and I there I was, literally face to face with a Raccoon.DAY THREE
Fuck. One simple word that could sum up this entire situation. I’m lying on the ground covered in mud and for all I know this stupid thing could be rabid, this stupid little Raccoon could potentially kill me. I stare at it and it stares right back, in fact it hasn't moved a single muscle since I began staring at it. I slowly begin to get up, eyeing it as I do so, and sit in a crossed legged position. No movement. I begin to snap right in front of its face. No movement. “Clear off you prat! Have you lost your mind?” I shout in frustration, but nothing, nothing in the whole world would make this thing move, it was like it had been paralyzed or something, come to think of it, it had a peculiar look to it, almost like a look of fear. I then notice something sticking out from the back of it, so, naturally, I get up to see what it is and my heart drops to my stomach. The Raccoon is dead and fresh blood was trickling down from the arrow that it had been shot with. I notice a large black shadow slowly beginning to engulf my entire body and an ominous feeling begins to form in the pit of my stomach. I hesitate for a moment and look up, and there, before my eyes, is a very tall man holding a giant spear.“Jarraitu!” The man screams in his native language and two men emerge from the bushes, both of them running towards me. I scream and turn away from the men, attempting to make an escape but failing as I was hit in the back of the head with a cold, hard object, everything after that was darkness.
DAY FOUR
As I begin to regain consciousness I feel something weighing down on my shoulders with an extreme amount of force, I couldn't move and I couldn't see. I was completely defenseless and I was running out of air, something was covering my mouth, suffocating me. I felt the life slowly drain out of me as each minute passed and just as I was about to let go I feel a sudden release, all the weight diminished at once. I gently open my eyes, everything is blurry but I can make out someone kneeling in front of me. I hear a muffled voice but I can barely decipher the words. My senses slowly come back and I only make out the last sentence. “Go downhill and you will find most of the other survivors and plenty of food." Just as I was about to reply the figure vanished and I was left alone to fend for myself.DAY FIVE
I lay against a tree as the warm sunlight penetrates my skin, seeping into every pore and giving me life. It has been two days since I was attacked by the two natives and somehow I managed to find enough food and water to keep me alive. The only thing is I have not slept at all in those two days, the natives must have broken some of my ribs because the pain is so excruciating that it is impossible for me to even sit down.I've spent the past hour thinking about the man who saved me. He had only said one thing to me but that one thing was enough to change my mind. I thought I could make it on my own, find Olivia on my own, and get off this island on my own. I was mistaken, each day I'm here I grow weaker, I overestimated my abilities because they are clearly no match for this place. Danger is lurking behind every corner and it's simply impossible for anyone to survive here alone, the only way I'll make it out of here, the only way I'll know if Olivia is still alive is to join the survivors. I shakily get up and start making my way downhill, every step I take feels like my last, the pain has gotten so bad that I don't even know if I will be able to make the journey.
After hours of walking the sandy shore appears before my eyes and a flutter of hope dances in my mind. This is it, this is how I'm going to get out of here, this is how we are all going to get out of here. I make it to the sand dragging myself along and just ahead of me the survivors come into view and I swear I can see Olivia. With a jolt of excitement I begin to run. Relief floods my body and just as I was about to make it to them a sharp pain strikes my chest and I fall to the ground and feel my mind begin to fade out.
DAY SIX
I could feel my heart beating very slowly as I opened my eyes and turn my head to the left to see a strange man sitting by my side.My hearing was a bit off so all I could hear were muffled cries and by the tone of the man’s voice I assumed they were cries for help. I slowly turn my head to the right and see five natives concealing themselves among the bushes. I gently rest my head back into the position that it was in, praying that the natives had not noticed that I was alive. I hear a loud thud come from my left side and I squeeze my eyes shut, I could hear the stranger and a native struggling right beside me. A couple of seconds later I hear a few gunshots and the intensity of the struggle began to grow. I wanted to help the man for it was five men against one and he would die without any help, but it was no use, I was weaker than ever and I would surely die the second I let the natives know that I was still alive.
I lifted my head and open my eyes slightly, but this time the stranger I had seen before was nowhere in sight, instead another man lay in front of me on his back. It took a couple of seconds for me to realize that this man was no stranger at all, he was the man who saved me in the forest!
I lifted my head even further and noticed the last native was standing right over top of him with his sword drawn, ready to kill him. I needed to act fast so, using all of the strength that was left in me, I propped myself up with my elbow and grabbed the pistol that was a couple of inches beside me. The native had not noticed me because he was too focused on the man below him, so I quickly pulled the gun up and aimed it at the native’s chest and in the second that it took for me to pull the trigger, he was dead.
The man turned his head towards me,
"Uhmm.. Thanks.." he said, groaning between each word. I let the gun fall from my hands and struggle to hold myself up.
"I'm Wrennyn.." the man says as he slowly rises to his knees. "Alice White.." I halfheartedly respond.
"... I guess we're equal now... I saved you... You returned the favor.." he says, slowly getting up and walking over to me.
He bent down beside me. "Can you stand, Alice?"
I look up at him and shake my head.
He gives me a half smile, shaking his head. “Figures..”
He gets up, straightens himself out and then bends down again to pick me up, lifting me up into his arms.
So we both began our journey back to camp. Wrennyn had been injured during his fight with the natives so every couple minutes or so he would set me down, apologizing as he did so, so he could catch his breath.
"So... from the accent... I'm guessing you are from the United Kingdom...” He said, stopping to breathe between each word.
"I'm from Bristol... In England." I responded, looking up and smiling at him.
"I visited London once... selling soap to people... I loved the rain." He said.
I laughed and wrapped my arms around his neck tighter as he stumbled up a sandy hill.
I looked up and noticed that we were really close to the camp, focusing in I saw a tall, muscular man with binoculars standing off to the side.
"Hounsome!! Over here, mate!" Wrennyn shouted at the man in the distance.
He took a few steps forward and then collapsed, I fell out of his arms onto the sand and winced in pain.
A couple of people I didn't recognize came over to me and helped me up and then proceeded to lead me into a small makeshift hut.
I collapsed and all of the pain from before had seemed to go away all at once and as if nothing had ever happened, I fell into a deep peaceful sleep.
DAY SEVEN
I awoke with a dark cloud looming over my thoughts. All of the things that tainted my subconscious were starting to come up and take over my attention.Where was Olivia? Why had we not been rescued yet? Will we ever be rescued?
The devil in my mind told me that Olivia was dead and that we would never make it off of this island alive. There was no hope.
It seemed as if these endless negative thoughts that kept replaying in my brain would never go away but something interrupted them.
Someone nudged my shoulder and my eyes flickered open.
Wrennyn. I slowly got up and stretched.
"Oh.. Hey. What's up?" I said giving him a half smile and pretending that nothing was wrong.
"Not much... Wanted to see how you were." He said sitting down on the bed beside me.
"Feeling a bit better now?" He continued.
"Yeah... Glad to see you're moving about." I replied with a smile
I couldn't help but feel happy whenever I saw him, he had sort of radiance. He was a light in my expanding darkness.
Silence crept around the room and just as I was about to say something he cut in.
.. "Well... Uhhh I am glad you're doing good... I'll... See you around?"
. "I sure hope so." I replied, feeling my cheeks burn red.
"Alrighty, Miss White... I will see you... around." and with that he was gone.
Later that day I found myself sitting by the fire, a multitude of people surrounded me but I felt alone. I pulled my legs into my chest and looked off into the distance. The darkness captured me but my light was nowhere to be found.
DAY EIGHT (DEAD)
I opened my eyes to the trance of morning, glittering beads of light illuminated my body as if some kind of spotlight were shining on me. I was laying in an open field and looking up I see Powder soft clouds dispersed across the entire sky.Am I...Dreaming? I thought, it was as if I had woken up on the island for the first time all over again, except this time there was no sand, no forest, and no people. I slowly sit up, turn my head and peer over my shoulder. I stare in confusion as an enormous oak tree comes into view about five meters away from where I sit. I look closer and see a shadowy figure sitting against the tree, holding what appears to be a book. I should have been scared, I should have been in panic but there was something different about this place. A soft aura filled the air, permeating my emotions, leading me to feel nothing but pure peace. I smiled as the soft breeze gently ruffled my hair. I calmly stood up and began to make my way over to the big oak, walking as if each step was being controlled by some outer force. I finally reach the tree and sure enough there is a little girl sitting down and reading a book. After a second or two she closes the book and looks up at me, she was as soft as the breeze and her smile captivated me as she stared deeply into my eyes. Finally, from what seemed like minutes she speaks. "Welcome to Heaven." Her voice was like silky smooth butter being poured onto bread. I stood there and stared at her, mouth wide open, awestruck.
DAY NINE (DEAD)
My mind was going a million miles a minute, Heaven? That can't be true...that would mean I'm...dead? I thought. The last thing I remember is looking for Olivia, I had heard her name...that's right she was calling me, she was alive, or at least I thought she was. I stopped for a moment and then my eyes were forced shut and my mind took me on an adventure. It was like a psychedelic trip, there were so many colors, so many figures, but then the abstract images faded and I saw myself. I was back in the forest pacing around, moving fast until in a fit of exhaustion until I was on my hands on knees, breathing in great huffing breaths. And that was when I heard the voice, Olivia's voice. Stay away the voice whispered in the wind. I shouted something but I couldn't hear what it was because the voice kept repeating Stay away. Stay away. I saw myself begin to run, chasing the voice. Little did I know, I was moving toward the sheer edge of a cliff and the voice repeated one last time.Stay away...the edge. I didn't have time to react and I fell to my death, I saw my mangled body lay on the ground, embraced by the wilderness that surrounded me and for a split second I swore I saw a ghostly figure kneeling down beside my dead body. The image faded away to blackness.
DAY TEN (DEAD)
I opened my eyes to find that I was no longer standing up. I was no longer in the sun swept plains. I was sitting in a boat and the little girl was sitting in front of me her back turned away as she paddled the nameless sea. Mountains crowded the blue sky and an explosion of color surrounded me. To my left were beautiful rolling hills and to my right were distant river valleys. This place was like no other, pure and untouched by man. The beauty overwhelmed my mind but I turned my attention to the little girl. Who is she? Where is she taking me? Perhaps to Olivia. I thought. I took a deep breath and then asked her where we were going. She turned around and smiled, "You will see." she said and then turned back around to face the unknown lands ahead.DAY ELEVEN (DEAD)
The mountains shimmered like a mirage in the distance and I realized that we weren't very far from land by now. My mind was beginning to wander, It ran aimlessly through cloudy memories from my childhood. My father, a man with brown hair and dark eyes just like myself cared about me more than anyone. He worked long hours and would come home at the same time every night exhausted, but instead of going to sleep he would come into my room just before I was about to fall asleep and tell me a story. He never read from a book but instead fabricated miraculous stories straight from his mind, on some nights he would tell me fairy tales and on other nights it would be real stories, about his childhood and his mother, whom I had never met, for she died before I was born. Sometimes he would spend hours talking and despite my exhaustion I would fight to stay awake and listen, it was almost like I knew that my time with him would be cut short. He died when I was only 12 years old.DAY TWELVE (DEAD)
I woke up on a sandy shore and for a second I thought I was back on the island and that I had just been dreaming this whole time, but I soon realized that that was impossible. I was surrounded by an ocean of yellow sand, no forest or anything in sight, just sand. I slowly got to my feet and took in my surroundings, the little girl from the day before was long gone by now, it was just me and the endless sand. I wanted to cry, heaven was supposed to be joyful place full of love and life, where family could gather together and spend the rest of eternity with no fears or worries or anything of the sort. Heaven was in fact a place of loneliness, a place of the unknown.DAY THIRTEEN (DEAD)
In a way it was like I was back on the island, alone and having to fend for myself, and the same feeling of hopelessness spread through the air like a virus. I was walking up the sand dunes when something caught my eye. There was a small building in the distance and looking closer I noticed it was a house. I began to run, thinking that if I waited too long it would fade away somehow, just like the river and the oak tree, both seemed to disappear without explanation. I ran like I was being chased by a murderer, ignoring the pain that formed in my side, Something told me that I needed to get to this house. I stopped in my tracks and fell to my knees gripping my side and breathing in short rapid breaths, I slumped to the ground and sobbed. The house that stood before me was not just any ordinary house, it was the house located in Bristol, on Willow road, my house.DAY FOURTEEN (DEAD)
I buried my head into my hands, wishing I was somewhere else, anywhere but here, maybe a peaceful garden or a buzzing coffee shop, I'd give anything not to be faced with my past. I slowly lifted my head away from my hands, eyes still squeezed shut and took a deep breath. I opened my eyes and gasped, my wish had come true. The smell of fresh cut grass filled the air and a kaleidoscopic array of colors surrounded me. I was in a giant greenhouse full of freshly grown flowers, the light from the morning shone in from the glass and scattered throughout the room, two blue jays perched on the branch of a small tree and sung back and forth. I was so awestruck that I almost didn't notice the bench in the middle of the room and the girl that sat in it.DAY FIFTEEN (DEAD)
The girl who looked about my age sat in the silver bench reading a book, not noticing my presence. She had tight golden curls that were tied back into a bow and a blue suede dress that came to her knees. I couldn't tell what she was reading but It must have been good because her eyes were glued to the page, even as I got up and walked towards her. I cautiously made my way over to the bench that was placed perpendicular to hers and quietly sat down. I tapped my fingers on the metal and just as I did so the girl jumped and looked over at me in utter surprise. "Oh my goodness I'm so sorry I didn't notice you there!" she squeaked. "I'm Madeline Rose, I see you have found my secret garden" she said, chuckling. I looked from the book to her face and smiled " I don't really know how I got here actually, It was sort of like magic, what's with that?" I asked. "Oh! You must be new, heaven is not exactly like the place they talk about on earth, not at all. In fact we aren't really in the true heaven, it's more like what they call purgatory on earth. Our lives on earth were so short, too short, we haven't had enough time to learn what we were meant to so that's why were here in...erm...half heaven I guess."DAY SIXTEEN (DEAD)
I sighed in relief. "That's good news, I mean I thought I was going mad, I thought for sure that I would be alone here forever or something." I said looking down at my muddy boots. Madeline giggled. "Oh no, not at all there's a lot of people here just like us, although most of them are off learning and exploring, That's what's so great about half heaven, you can think of anywhere you want to be and...voila! You're there!" I looked up at her, eyes wide. "Well that explains a lot...quite a lot, and I could be anywhere at all? Is that so?" I asked. "Why yes!" Madeline beamed. "Anywhere from a quite isolated garden to...say college...or New York...or even your own house! If that is where you need to go to learn." She said enthusiastically. "My own house..." I said quietly, that's why my house appeared earlier! There's something there that I could learn from...but what? "I'm sorry I've got to go, bye Madeline thank you for your help" I said as I closed my eyes and wished to be home.DAY SEVENTEEN (DEAD)
And just like that I was back at my front porch standing in front of that familiar red door. I stepped forward and the door opened by itself like magic, I walked in and looked behind the door but no one was there. Nostalgia filled the air as I looked around my living room, there was that coral pink chair my mother used to lounge in and drink her tea, and the shelves that were full of old family photos. I picked one up and smiled, It was a picture of my mother, Olivia, and I sitting in front of the fire place on Christmas morning, my father had taken the picture without us knowing. I set the picture down and walked deeper into the house and as I passed the stairs I felt a light breeze. I stopped and hesitantly approached the staircase and followed the breeze. As I came into the upstairs hallway I noticed a light coming from my sisters room and her door was wide open. I slowly walked towards her room making as little noise as possible, I stood outside the doorway and froze, there sitting on her bed was Olivia.DAY EIGHTEEN (DEAD)
She sat in silence looking down at a photograph of a girl, a tear fell from her cheek and onto the paper. Looking closer I realized that the picture was of me, our mother took it right before I left for training. I broke the silence. "Olivia?" I said as I quietly walked into the room. She looked up in an instant and gasped. "Alice!" She bolted from the bed and jumped into my arms. "Alice I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry." She cried. "Sorry? For what?" I asked, confused. She let go and moved back, looking into my eyes. "For...not being able to save you, I saw you run for that cliff , I tried to warn you...but" She looked away with a guilty expression. I laughed. "No! There's nothing you could have done, I was never going to make it off that island alive, there was no hope...for anyone really....besides we're together at last! You have no idea how long I have waited for this moment!" She turned towards me and I wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Where were you all that time anyways?" I asked. She looked at me and laughed. "Well, I went off to find shelter and on my little journey I was bit by a monkey, I didn't think much of it...but nearly an hour later the pain was so excruciating so I went for a little walk, mind you it was pitch black by the time this happened and apparently I was right beside a river and...well you can pretty much guess from there."DAY NINETEEN (DEAD)
"Death by monkey." I laughed "What a story." She sighed and looked away. "What's the matter?" I asked. "Father...I haven't seen him at all you know." She said, looking at the ground. "Olivia it's okay! Were in half heaven." I exclaimed "Half heaven? What do you mean?" She asked. "I'm surprised no one has told you, this isn't true heaven...it's like purgatory, we're here because we haven't learned enough on earth because we're so young and all." She gasped. "That makes so much sense! Every time I fall asleep I wake up in a new place, it's the weirdest thing, but it makes sense, in order to learn you must experience as much as you can in as many places you can." She said. "Exactly!" I shouted. "It works even if you close your eyes as well, if you just wish to be somewhere, you'll be there, it's crazy!" I explained. "Well we've obviously got to try this out now, where should we go?"DAY TWENTY (DEAD)
We spent the rest of our days in purgatory embarked on an everlasting journey to find ourselves. In the blink of an eye we would be sailing the deep sea, writing novels at Harvard, walking the busy streets of New York City, and even meditating with monks. It was all one big self-exploration journey, but one event in particular stood out among-st them all. I woke up one morning in my old bedroom with Olivia right beside me, which was no surprise; we stuck together like glue, never leaving each other’s side. The idea appeared to hit us both at the same time and in a matter of seconds we were gone. Gliding over the foggy skies we were back in the place of our demise. The one event that we never truly understood, the plane crash, was the last thing we needed. The entire event was bizarre in itself, a plane crashes on an island with over thirty people and not one person comes to look for us? This couldn’t have just been a coincidence, we are in the twenty first century, a lost plane in this day and age is nearly impossible. Our ghostly bodies drifted above the trees as we searched the land below us, like two birds.